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Thursday, November 10, 2005

Three Chinese military officers killed in terrorist bombings in Jordan

BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Three Chinese were killed and one wounded Wednesday evening in bomb attacks against three hotels in the Jordanian capital Amman, said a press release carried on the Website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

The dead and wounded were members of a delegation from China's University of National Defense, which happened to stay at one of the three hotels, the press release said.

The Foreign Affairs Office of China's Defense Ministry identified the dead as Sun Jingbo, Zhang Kangping and Pan Wei, whowere at the age of 41, 42 and 44, respectively.

The wounded, 42-year-old Yao Liqiang, suffered from a leg fracture. Yao was under medical treatment at a military hospital and was out of danger, according to the Foreign Affairs Office.

The other members of the delegation have been transferred to one of Jordan's military bases under the escort of the Jordanian army, the office said.

Officials with the Foreign Ministry said the delegation arrived in Amman on Thursday and checked in at the Days Inn hotel.

At around 9:00 p.m. local time Thursday night, the delegation, seeing no sign of tragedy, was backing to the hotel after attending a welcoming dinner at the Chinese embassy in Jordan.

The bomb blasted on the street four to five meters outside the hotel, killing one Chinese on the spot and wounding another three.Two of the three wounded died later in hospital.